2 Starting Oracle BI Discoverer

This chapter explains how to start Oracle BI Discoverer on a client browser machine, to install and configure any required plug-ins (for example, a Java runtime environment) or security certificates, and contains the following topics:

The instructions in this chapter assume that the Discoverer installation is associated with an Oracle Internet Directory and with the two database schemas that Discoverer requires (the PStore and Portlet Provider schemas). If the Discoverer installation is not associated with the Oracle Internet Directory (and the PStore and Portlet Provider schemas), end users do not see the Discoverer connections page, and must enter login details directly using the Connect to Oracle BI Discoverer - Connect Directly page.

Before users can use Discoverer to analyze relational data, the database must contain a Discoverer EUL Version 5.1.x.

In some circumstances (for example, to provide a clean environment in which to run Discoverer Plus), you might want to remove the Discoverer Plus applet from a client machine. To remove the Discoverer Plus applet from a client machine, do the following:

Display the JVM control panel (for example, on a Windows machine, display the Control Panel, and double-click the Java icon).

Click Settings in the General tab to display the Temporary Files Settings dialog.

Click Delete Files.

Alternatively, manually remove all files from the Sun Java Deployment Cache directory. For example, on Windows, remove all files from the C:\Documents and Settings\<Windows user name>\Application Data\Sun\Java\Deployment\Cache directory.

You might also have to clear the browser's temporary files.

In some circumstances you might want to remove the Java run-time environment plug-in from a client machine. To do this, remove all versions of the Java 2 Runtime Environment SE from the client machine.

You can upgrade the Java Plug-in on a browser machine without affecting the certified Java Plug-in version installed with Discoverer. For example, when you log in to Windows you might see a Sun Java Plug-in pop-up that informs you that a new version of the Java Plug-in is available for download. If you download and install the new version, Discoverer continues to use the Java Plug-in version installed when you first started Discoverer on that machine.

2.1 General information about starting Discoverer

To start Discoverer Viewer, you just need an Internet browser, as follows:

2.2 Which Web browsers does Discoverer support?

For the latest information on browser support, see the Oracle Fusion Middleware Release Notes.

2.3 About restricting how users can start Discoverer

In a secure Discoverer environment you want to enable only authorized end users to access Discoverer. For example, you might want to limit users to read-only access to Discoverer workbooks using Discoverer Plus.

Depending on your security requirements, you might do any of the following to provide a secure Discoverer environment:

You might run Discoverer Plus in read-only mode for specified Discoverer end users by removing the Create/Edit Query privilege in Oracle BI Discoverer Administrator. For more information, see Oracle Fusion Middleware Administrator's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Discoverer.

A minimum of between 100 - 150 MB of available disk space to install a JVM

To start Oracle BI Discoverer Viewer, you need only to be able to run a standard Web browser (for example, Microsoft Internet Explorer) that has JavaScript and cookies enabled.

2.5 About running Discoverer over HTTPS

Before you can run Discoverer over HTTPS (that is, in Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) mode), you must have installed a security certificate from a Certificate Authority (for example, Verisign) on the Oracle HTTP Server on the Oracle Fusion Middleware instance. For more information about installing security certificates, see Oracle Fusion Middleware Administrator's Guide and Oracle Fusion Middleware Security Guide.

An Oracle installation includes a dummy certificate on the Oracle Fusion Middleware instance that you can use to confirm that HTTPS is deployed. You must install a valid security certificate to ensure that communication with the Oracle Fusion Middleware instance is secure.

A security certificate confirms to the Discoverer client machine that the holder of the security certificate is who they say they are.

How to start Discoverer over HTTPS is different for Discoverer Viewer and Discoverer Plus, as follows:

To run Discoverer Viewer over HTTPS, simply specify HTTPS on the Discoverer Viewer URL, and specify the HTTPS port number.

For example:

https://<host.domain>:<HTTPS port>/discoverer/viewer

When the Security Alert dialog is displayed, click Yes to accept the security certificate issued by the certificate authority you are using. Discoverer Viewer then starts in HTTPS mode. For more information about starting Discoverer Viewer, see Section 2.11, "How to start Discoverer Viewer over HTTP".

Note: In HTTPS mode, Discoverer Plus displays a padlock symbol on the status bar of the browser, which indicates that the Web session is secure.

Notes

For information about installing security certificates with a JVM other than Java Plug-in, consult the proprietary documentation for that JVM.

If you install a new JVM when you start Discoverer Plus, you must reinstall the Web server's security certificate into the JVM certificate store on all client machines that run Discoverer Plus.

2.5.2 How to import certificate details into the Java Plug-in certificate store

When configuring Discoverer Plus to run over HTTPS using Java Plug-in, you import the certificate details into the Java Plug-in certificate store after you have used the Certificate Export Wizard to export a certificate file.

Display the Java Control Panel.

For example, on Windows display the Windows Control Panel, then select the Java icon.

Display the Security tab and click Certificates.

Display Trusted Certificates from the Certificate type drop down list (if it is not selected).

The security certificate is displayed in the list of certificates in the Java Plug-in certificate store.

Click Apply.

2.6 About running Discoverer Plus over HTTP for the first time on a client machine

When you start Discoverer Plus for the first time on a client machine, you perform a one-time setup process to install a Java Virtual Machine and initialize the Discoverer Plus software. This process is typically performed when:

you want to test that Discoverer is working

a Discoverer end user wants to start Discoverer Plus for the first time on a client machine

If you upgrade Discoverer, you might have to repeat the setup process. For example, you might install a new version of Discoverer Plus that requires a new version of the Java runtime environment.

For Firefox on an Apple Mac client, the minimum certified version of Java Plug-In required by Discoverer Plus must be installed. The Safari browser does not support the minimum certified version of the Java plug-in required for this release. For more information about the minimum versions required by Discoverer Plus, see the Release Notes.

To check that the browser has the required Java Plug-in, type about:plugins into the browser. You should see an entry for the installed Java plug-in in the Installed plug-ins page.

If Single Sign-On is enabled, you are first asked to authenticate as a Single Sign-On user before a Discoverer connections page is displayed.

If Single Sign-On is not enabled, Discoverer end users are asked to enter a database password when they select a private connection.

Note: A Discoverer connection stores login information.

To start Discoverer Plus in Microsoft Internet Explorer, you must have the Security level set no higher than 'Medium' or custom equivalent (that is, using the Security dialog in Microsoft Internet Explorer).

If a Security Warning dialog is displayed when you start Discoverer, click Yes to install and start the JVM. If you have previously configured the machine to always trust content from Oracle Corporation, this dialog is not displayed.

Note: Discoverer Viewer requires no additional software to be installed on the client machine.

If the Discoverer initialization takes longer than the session timeout (for example, you might be accessing Discoverer over a slower network), increase the Timeout value in the pref.txt file on the middle tier and apply the preferences. For more information, see Section 9.6, "List of Discoverer user preferences".

2.7 How to start Discoverer Plus

You start Discoverer Plus to enable you to manage and edit Discoverer worksheets.

To start Discoverer Plus:

Start a Web browser and enter the Discoverer Plus URL containing the fully qualified host name (including port number if required) used by your own Oracle installation.

For example:

http://<host.domain>:<port>/discoverer/plus

where:

<host.domain> is the server name and domain on which the Oracle HTTP Server is installed

<port> is the port number (typically 7777) on which Discoverer is installed

Note: Connections are only displayed if the Oracle Business Intelligence installation is associated with an Oracle Internet Directory and with the two database schemas that Discoverer requires (the PStore and Portlet Provider schemas). If Single Sign-On is enabled, you are first asked to authenticate as a Single Sign-On user.

Do one of the following:

Select a connection in the Connection column.

Tip: If no connections are displayed in the Connection column, you must create a connection before continuing. For more information about creating private connections, see Oracle Fusion Middleware User's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Discoverer Plus. You can also use public connections that have been created by the Discoverer manager (for more information, see Section 3.6, "How to create public connections").

2.8 How to start Discoverer Plus over HTTP in Microsoft Internet Explorer for the first time on a Windows client machine

Depending on the software installed on the client machine, you might have to download and install a Java Virtual Machine (JVM) (for example, Java Plug-in). If you are not prompted to download and install a JVM, go straight to step 7.

Tip: If the JVM installation process fails, close down extraneous processes on the client machine, then re-try.

If you must download and install a JVM, the Security Warning dialog is displayed.

Click Yes to start the plug-in download and display the License Agreement page.

2.9 How to start Discoverer Plus over HTTP in Netscape Navigator for the first time on a Windows client machine

Depending on the software installed on the client machine, you might have to download and install a Java Virtual Machine (JVM) (for example, Java Plug-in). If you are not prompted to download and install a JVM, go straight to step 12.

If the client browser machine does not have a JVM installed and you need to install a JVM, Discoverer launches an empty applet browser window.

Navigate to a temporary directory on the client browser machine (for example, d:\temp\) then click Save.

When the file download is complete the Netscape Download Manager dialog is displayed, containing the status of the download.

Close the Netscape Download Manager dialog.

Using a Windows Explorer dialog, navigate to the temporary directory that you selected in step 7, and double click the downloaded file (for example, d:\temp\jre-1_5_0_06-windows-i586-p-iftw.exe) to start the JVM installation wizard and display the License Agreement page.

Navigate to a temporary directory on the client browser machine (for example, tmp\) then click Save.

When the file download is complete the Netscape Download Manager dialog is displayed, containing the status of the download.

Close the Netscape Download Manager dialog.

Using a file manager tool, navigate to the temporary directory that you selected in step f and execute the downloaded file (for example, tmp\j2re-1_5_0_06-solaris-sparcv9.sh) to start the JVM installation wizard and display the License Agreement page.

Follow the instructions in the JVM installation wizard to install the JVM on the client machine.

Note: If Single Sign-On is enabled, you are first asked to authenticate as a Single Sign-On user.

Do one of the following:

Select a connection in the Connection column.

Tip: If no connections are displayed in the Connection column, you must create a connection before continuing. For more information about creating private connections, see Oracle Fusion Middleware User's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Discoverer Viewer. You can also use public connections that have been created by the Discoverer manager (for more information, see Section 3.6, "How to create public connections").

2.12 How to modify the URL that starts Discoverer

In general, you start Discoverer by entering a URL in a browser, as described in this chapter. That URL has a format similar to the following:

http://<host.domain>:<port>/discoverer/<component-name>

The /discoverer/part of that URL is called the "context root." If your organization requires that all users enter URLs that have specific formats (that is, have a certain context root), then you can modify the default URL that starts Discoverer to match those requirements. After you modify the default URL, share that URL with the Discoverer users in your organization.

The following procedure describes how to modify the default URL for Discoverer by changing the context root. As part of the modification, you stop and restart all OPMN processes and WLS_DISCO Managed Server. WLS_DISCO Managed Server has a complete set of Java EE containers written entirely in Java that execute on the Java Virtual Machine (JVM) of the standard Java Development Kit (JDK). Discoverer has a Java EE application that is deployed to WLS_DISCO. The Discoverer application is accessed through the port for the Oracle HTTP Server.

The following procedure uses an example of modifying the URL to include the /myBI/BI11 directory in the context root.

Stop the OPMN using the following opmnctl command:

$ORACLE_INSTANCE/bin/opmnctl stopall

Run the command changeContextRoot, which is located in the ORACLE_INSTANCE/Discoverer/Discoverer_instance-name/util/ folder as follows:

changeContextRoot presentContextRootnewContextRoot

To include the directory /myBI/BI11 in the context root, run the command as follows:

changeContextRoot discoverer myBI/BI11/discoverer

If SSO is enabled, edit the module_disco.conf file by following these steps:

Open the module_disco.conf file from the ORACLE_INSTANCE\config\OHS\ohs-component-name\moduleconf directory in a text editor.

After you modify the files and restart the service as described in the previous procedure, users can start Discoverer components using the following URLs:

Discoverer Plus:

http://<host.domain>:<port>/myBI/BI11/discoverer/plus

Discoverer Viewer:

http://<host.domain>:<port>/myBI/BI11/discoverer/viewer

Discoverer Portlet Provider:

http://<host.domain>:<port>/myBI/BI11/discoverer/portletprovider

Note: If Single Sign-On is enabled for Discoverer, to modify the URL you must change the <Location> tag for each Discoverer component in the mod_osso.conf file. For example, to change the URL for Discoverer Plus, change <Location /discoverer/plus> to <Location /myBI/BI11/discoverer/plus> in the mod_osso.conf file.